Family allowances from Austria

Are you working in Austria and have children? Apply for Austrian child benefits.

Child benefits (Familienbeihilfe)

Child allowances, or Familienbeihilfe, are a financial allowance for parents and are intended for the upbringing and maintenance of child/children.

The basic prerequisite for entitlement to child benefit is compulsory social insurance in Austria, which you automatically acquire in connection with your employment. This means that if you work in Austria, you are compulsorily socially insured and entitled to the allowance.

Who can apply for child benefit?

Only one of the child's legal guardians can apply for child benefits. In practice, the following situations may arise:

• if the parents are married, either parent can apply for this benefit,
• if you are single or divorced, only the child's mother can apply,
• if the parents are divorced and the child is cohabiting with the father (the father is the sole legal representative), only the father can apply.

Child benefit in 2024

Child allowances are paid monthly, with the amount depending on the age of the children. The Kinderabsetzbetrag, or child tax bonus, of €67,80 per month is automatically added to the amount of the allowance:

Every taxpayer in Austria who receives family allowances from Austria is entitled to Kinderabsetzbetrag. A taxpayer who has an unlimited tax liability in Austria and receives family allowances can also benefit from the Familienbonus Plus, or tax relief of €2,000 per year for one child up to the age of 18. The Familienbonus Plus can also be claimed for children aged 18 and over, provided they are still receiving family allowances. In this case, the tax credit is €650 per year.

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The amount of the allowance is also increased according to the number of children on the basis of the so-called sibling supplement, which is added monthly to the basic allowance, as follows:

In 2019, the indexation of child and sibling allowances has been introduced in Austria. Indexation meant that the amount of family allowances and the amount of the sibling allowance for children residing outside Austria or in EU/EEA countries and Switzerland was different from the amount of the allowance for children residing in Austria. The amount of the family allowances for children residing outside Austria depended on the place of residence of the children, which in many cases resulted in significantly lower child allowances and sibling allowances.

In connection with the above decision, a measure was also taken to pay the difference in family allowances for the period from January 2019 to June 2022. The payment of the difference took place in the period from July to August 2022.

Applying for child benefit

You can apply for child benefit either on paper (to the local tax office) or electronically via FinanzOnline, using the following forms:

• application Beih 100 - if you are not receiving child benefit in another EU country,
• application Beih 38 - if you receive benefits for the child in another EU country,
• form E 411.

You must also attach the following translated copies of documents to your application:

• the birth certificate of the child/children,
• employment contract,
• marriage certificate/divorce decree/death certificate,
• school attendance certificate (for school-age children),
• confirmation of studies using form E 402 (for children in education).

For how long can I receive child benefit?

Austrian child benefit can be received for each child up to the age of 18. A child over 18 years of age can only receive the allowance if the child is in vocational training or studying at an apprenticeship, vocational school or university. In this case, family allowances are paid until the child reaches the age of 24.

We will be happy to help you with the processing of child benefits, obtaining documents, pension refunds or tax refunds.